


If You Ever Come Back

by InsomniacsFantasy



Category: Until Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Fix-It, Half-Wendigo Josh Washington, I just love these kids so much, Josh Washington Deserved BETTER, Sam is a little delusion but determined, They had a connection, Wendigo!Josh
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-15
Updated: 2019-11-24
Packaged: 2020-10-19 11:08:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20656244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InsomniacsFantasy/pseuds/InsomniacsFantasy
Summary: Sam begins to believe that her dreams are trying to tell her that Josh may still be alive on the mountain. There is only one way to find out, right?





	1. Run Little Girl

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> H̶e̶l̶l̶o̶ ̶f̶r̶i̶e̶n̶d̶s̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶f̶a̶n̶s̶ 
> 
> I know this fandom is pretty much dead but I just recently played Until Dawn on playstation now. I know right where the fuck have I been? Anyways I know that not many people are still writing or reading for this series but I have found a few still active fics that I have been loving and it's really inspired me to write my own Sam/Josh story. 
> 
> Will it be any good? Maybe not. Will I abdon it? Possibly, Will anyone ever actually read this? Fuck knows, but lets find out together.

**UNTIL DAWN CHAPTER 1 **

  
  


Sam was running through the snow. It was almost pitch black save for a small sliver of moonlight shining down through the towering trees of the woods. 

A quick flash of white as something jumped from one tree to another to her right caused Sam to whip her head round.  _ Nothing _ . 

But it was following her, gaining on her. She couldn't see it but she knew it was there 

The freezing air was like little needles stabbing against her skin as she raced forward. A loud screeching noise pierced through the silent night air behind her. Her heart felt like it was in her throat as she turned her head and frantically peeked over her shoulder, her eyes once again met with nothing. It was only when she turned her head back around that she froze in her tracks. Blue eyes met with milky white. 

She had no time to react before it lunged forward. The loud screech shattered through her ear drums but something pulled her back and it wasn't sharp talons clawing into her stomach and ripping her apart, it was hands. Human hands. The world felt like it was spinning and everything was going black.

But she heard a voice right in her ear, not a screech, a  _ voice _ . A voice that she knew so well.

_ "Sam?" _

** _BEEP_ ** **. ** ** _BEEP. BEEP_ ** .

The loud noise shot Sam awake. 

"Josh?!" 

She sat bolt upright, limbs tangled in her sheets, blue eyes frantically darting over the room looking for the sound of screeching. She was panting and her vision was blurred. After a few seconds her eyes connected with the glare of the neon numbers of her alarm clock on her bedside table. 

A dream. It was just a dream. Rubbing tired and blurry eyes sam moved her hands and squinted as she peered down at the red digits.

_ 10:31 _

_ Shit _ .

She had missed her 6:30 jog. How had she slept through her first alarm? 

Reaching across her bed Sam pressed the small button on top of the clock and turned the alarm off. With a yawn, she began to untangle her legs from her sheets and climb out of bed. Wanting to shake off the small jittery feeling she still felt from her nightmare Sam moved into her bathroom and stepped in to the shower. 

Once she was clean and dressed the blonde began to make her way downstairs and into the kitchen where she was greeted by the sight of her mother placing a green smoothie down next to a bowl of mixed fruit and granola. Sam raised her eyebrow. 

She had known Sam would be down at this time. 

"Oh, good morning, Sweetie." Her mother smiled warmly. 

"Did you turn off my alarm?" Sam quizzed. 

Now her mother looked a tad guilty but the smile still remained on her face. "I thought you could use a little extra sleep." Came the reply.

"I'm fine." Sam mumbled and moved over to the dining table. She inwardly winced at her own bluntness. She didn't mean to be rude to her mom, she was only trying to do what she thought was good for her daughter. But as Sam had told everyone again and again. She was  _ fine. _

The older blonde sighed softly as she took in her daughters appearance. The dark circles under her eyes were getting more prominent. 

"You know what i'm going to call work an--" 

"Mom, really. I'm fine. I was just got in late last night I was out with Ashley." Sam interrupted with a forced smile.

That was a lie.

Her mother eyed her for a few seconds and Sam tried to meet her eye. She looked tired too, I mean you would do if you were working two jobs whilst also trying to be there for your nervous wreck daughter. 

Deana finally nodded. "Okay, fine. But don't you stay cooped up in here all day, it's supposed to be nice outside today." The woman turned to pick up her purse and car keys before turning back to Sam and giving her a sad smile. 

"I'll be home late again tonight, there is some food in the fridge or i've left some money on the fireplace for you to order something." 

Sam took a sip of her smoothie before setting the cup down and nodding. "Thanks mom." She smiled tightly. Deana bent down and placed a small kiss on Sam's head before looking as though she were debating staying with her daughter again. Before she could say anything however Sam was shaking her head and leaning back. "Mom really--" 

"Okay okay i'm going!" Her mother tutted and hastily made her way out of the kitchen. As soon as she heard the front door click shut Sam sighed. Turning back to her plate she picked at a few pieces of her breakfast before her phone buzzed and a text message lit up her screen.

Sliding her thumb across the screen Sam's eyes scanned the screen. 

_ Ash: Hey Sam, me and Chris are at hanging over at his place later wanna come? :) xo _

Sam smirked softly, an opportunity for the both of them to hang out just themselves and they had to invite someone else, she could imagine Josh rolling his eyes and throwing his hands up in exasperation right now. 

Sam's smirk slowly slid off her face as her mind drifted back to her dream. His voice had sounded so real, she had practically felt his breath on her neck. A cold shiver ran down her spine and she shook the thoughts away from her head. 

Glancing back down to her phone, Sam pondered the decision. Maybe her mom was right, she should get out today and take her mind off things and so she found her thumbs dancing across the screen, typing out a reply to her friend. 

_ Sam: Sounds good. What time?x _

_Ash: 3! See you then!xo_

Sam checked the time on the upper right hand corner of her screen.

_ 11:18 _

Shrugging on her hoodie and slipping in to her running shoes, Sam plugged her earphones in to her phone. She had plenty of time to kill and an afternoon jog was going to have to make up for missing her morning one. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay guyss, so that was the first chapter! It's more of a kinda prologue thab anything else, chapters will get better as we go on..I hope at least. 
> 
> So Josh won't be making any 'official' appearances just yet but we're getting there. 
> 
> Also if there is like a decided name for Sam's mum so for now she is Deana - shout out to The Dirt.


	2. See You In My Dreams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so this chapter is a little bit longer as we begin to get slightly more in to the story. Josh makes a appearance here M̶o̶s̶t̶l̶y̶ ̶j̶u̶s̶t̶ ̶b̶e̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶a̶ ̶p̶e̶r̶v̶, in dream/delusion sequences.

Spending the day with Chris and Ashley proved to actually be pretty okay. The trio had ended up at the park with a soccer ball. Just kicking it around and having some laughs, well, Ashley didn't really join in with kicking the ball complaining that she was wearing a skirt and didn't want to flash anyone. Which resulted in Chris turning bright red. 

Sam had rolled her eyes, right about now Josh would have been leering over at Chris and obnoxiously mouthing the words. 'Bone Zone'. 

Sam snickered to herself for a moment before shaking her head. She had been thinking about him a lot since her dream and her moment of being lost in her thoughts had cost her. She had taken her focus off of the ball being passed back and forth and missed Chris running up to take a shot. 

She hadn't even noticed it flying towards her until it smacked her in the face and she was sent crashing to the ground. 

_ "Oh my god!"  _

Sam groaned at the pain in her lip, she tasted something metallic in her mouth and as she opened her eyes, the sun was blocked out by someone standing over her.

"Shit Sammy, didn't realise you wanted my balls in your face that much you're willing to get smacked in the face by one." 

_ Josh. _

She could see him barely through the strips of sunlight coming from around his silhouette, but he was there. Tanned, handsome and alive. 

She blinked and he was gone. Standing in his place was Chris, with Ashley by his side, both looking extremely concerned. 

"Holy shit Sam are you okay?!" Chris panicked. 

"Can you sit up?" Ashley attempted to grab her friend's hand.

"Josh?" Sam croaked out. 

The standing pair shared a silent glance with each other before helping Sam to her feet. Once she was standing up right and the shock had subsided everything was clearer. She was still in the park with Chris and Ashley, she could hear the sounds of children laughing further down in the play area and dogs barking. There was no Josh, he was never there. 

"Sam, it's us.." Ash started lightly a look of pity on her face. Sam hated that. 

"I'm really sorry Sam! I swear I wasn't aiming for your face!" Chris apologised sincerely. "You're bleeding." he pointed out with a frown and Ashley smacked him in the arm and huffed. "I told you guys it was a stupid idea!"

Sam reached up and touched her lip it was just a small cut nothing major, she still felt kind of light headed though. "I'm fine guys, really." There she went again stressing she was fine.

Chris sighed softly and looked around the park, the sun was going down soon and it was getting colder. "Come on we should get going anyways it's getting late - i'll drop you guys home." He offered both girls and both nodded in acceptance. The walk back to the car was quiet as was the ride home. Chris dropped Ashley off first and normally Sam would have been a bit confused sure they were still kind of hopeless at the whole romance thing but Chris had begun taking Ashley home lately and even going as far to walk her to her door. But Sam knew why he was dropping her off first. 

Chris did however still walk Ashley to the door as Sam slipped from the back seat in to Ashley's now vacant one and waved the girl goodbye. 

The blonde male slipped back into the car and started up the engine and pulled out of Ashley's driveway. "So.." Chris began and nervously drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. Sam groaned quietly and rolled her eyes. Here we go..

"Are you okay Sam?" Chris asked and she knew what he meant but she wasn't going to bite and she hoped if she dismissed it enough he would drop it. 

"I told you I'm fine Chris it's like barely a scratch." She waved him off but he shook his head. 

"Sam." He pressed. "You know that's not what I am talking about.

Sam fidgeted uncomfortably in her seat her house was just down this street now meaning this conversation would thankfully end soon. Chris noticed her actions and sighed quietly. 

"Look if you ever want to talk about it- "

"I'm fine Chris." 

"-we are all here for you. We have all sort of talked about what has happened a little-"

"Chris I said I am fine."

"Even Mike has talked about it and you are the only one who hasn't maybe if-." 

"CHRIS I SAID I AM FUCKING FINE." Sam finally snapped. Chris instantly shut up and sunk in to his seat. Sam instantly frowned, she hadn't meant to snap at him. He was just trying to help. She knew he was right, Sam had never spoken about what happened that night, she had never spoken about  _ him _ . Everytime someone brought up the conversation she instantly shut it down or simply left the room. 

Sam also sunk down in her seat, she didn't even notice or care they had reached her house. 

"I had a dream about him." She whispered quietly.

"Mike?" Chris asked, his face twisted in to confusion and there was heat to his cheeks. 

She rolled her eyes. "No, Josh..and not that kind of dream."

Chris' face fell and he uttered a small ' _ oh _ '. Before he shut off the car and turned his torso to face her in the passenger seat. "What happened?" He wasn't trying to be nosy he was genuinely curious and he thought maybe Sam was concussed from that ball smacking her right in the face because she never openly spoke about Josh. 

"I was on the mountain" She started and noticed Chris tensing out the corner of her vision. "I was running..I was being chased." She didn't have to explain what was chasing her, he knew. "I-i could hear it getting closer...and when it..once I saw it and it saw me I knew it was over.." Sam shifted in her seat. "Before it got me though something..some _ one _ grabbed me. It was him, it was him Chris he said my name." She was looking at him now with big bright eyes and he frowned.

"He was alive Chris and he saved me, i've had that dream a thousand fucking times and that is the only time he was there...Mike said that Hannah had grabbed him down in the mines b-but he never  _ saw _ him die." 

Chris shook his head softly. "It was just a dream Sam." But Sam continued, everything she had built up was rising up to the surface. "Hannah survived for a whole month, Chris what if we left him down there and he was still alive." The last word broke off in to a whimper, she hadn't even realised her eyes were beginning to pool with tears.

Chris reached for Sam and pulled her close, she could see the sympathy in his eyes. "A  _ month _ Sam. Hannah survived a month. It's been three almost four months..th-there is no way.." Chris couldn't even finish his own sentence.

Sam scowled and straightened up pulling herself away from him, wiping the tears from her eyes. She nodded as she spoke "Yeah, yeah you are right, Chris." 

The blonde boy frowned at her expression and mentally kicked himself. Here she was finally opening up and he screwed it up. "Sam i-" He started but she shook her head and opened the door and climbed out of the car. "Goodnight." She finished, slamming the door closed and storming over to her house. She quickly made her way inside and instantly ran up to her room, she felt like her throat was closing up. She was hurt, angry, confused all that pent up emotion had been too much after not feeling  _ anything _ for so long. Music. She needed music. 

When ever she felt like this before she followed a few simple steps that got her to calm down. She would put in her earphones, listen to Bach, lay down on her back, close her eyes and let the world drift away. Sam dug her phone out of her pocket, but she couldn't find her earphones. Letting out a frustrated groan she stomped her foot against the carpeted floor. 

_ Fuck _ , they must have fallen out her pocket at the park. How was she supposed to listen to music when jogging now? 

Wait! She had a spare pair Mike had given her at a party about three years ago so she could listen to music as she walked home as she had left her pair at home. But Mike was pretty tipsy and forgot he gave them to Sam and ended up buying a new pair the next day anyways.

She headed to the closet in her bedroom and stepped inside she was sure she put them in a box with some other junk, with her hands on her hips she gazed up at the shelves and sucked on her cut lip as her eyes scanned the closet. She let out a small yell as she spotted the box she was looking for, it was under another box. She reached up on her tiptoes, fingers not even grazing the box. Sam huffed and jumped up, knocking the box and the one above it down on top of her.

"God damn it." She hissed and rubbed her head. Her scowl was replaced with a triumphant noise after spotting the earphones on the floor. She bent down to pick them up and collect up the fallen items. The other box that had fallen had contained old polaroids they were all kind of scattered from falling but one specific one lay face up right at her feet. Her fingers began to tremble as she delicately picked up the photograph. She remembered this night. It was Jess's birthday two years ago. In the photo, she and Josh are on the couch she is basically in his lap with her hands in her face but you could still see her laughing face peeking out from behind them, Mike is in the corner of the photo standing up with a bottle of champagne that they had stolen from Jessica's dad's office spraying everywhere. His face is soaked like he had sprayed himself in the face, his eyes are screwed shut and he is holding the bottle of champagne towards the couch. Matt and Chris are behind the couch shielding themselves and there is a blurry glare of what appears to be Emily running away in the other corner. 

Josh is sat with his arms around Sam, protecting her from the splash zone. He is clearly drunk and there is a lazy grin on his face as he stares down at the girl in his lap not even bothering to shield himself he seemed more interested in Sam. She remembered she had been sitting beside him but as soon as the drink started spraying everywhere she leaned back in to Josh to get away from the splash zone. Tears began to prick at her blue eyes once again. 

She remembered how much Beth and Hannah had teased him over the photo. 

_ "Look how you are looking at her!" Hannah had cooed the next day when the four of them were looking through the photographs. The three girls had invaded Josh's room knowing fine well he would be hungover. _

_ Josh rolled his eyes. His hair was messy and his voice was deeper than usual, dressed in grey sweats and a t-shirt, slowly sipping on a water to nurse his hangover as he lay on top of his bed. "Why are you being so loud." He grumbled and rubbed a hand over his eyes. _

_ "Because you looove Sam." Beth sang with a smirk.  _

_ "Any dude is gonna smile if they have a hot chick literally climbing into their lap, she totally came on to me." Josh shrugged with a devilish smirk but looked over to the small blonde in the doorway who had not spoken a word the whole time. "Besides Sammy, all you have to do is ask. You know you can get up on this thang anytime you likes." He drawled casually.  _

_ "Ugh gross." Hannah scrunched her nose up in disgust and went back to her pictures while Beth shook her head. _

_ "In you dreams, Washington." Sam scoffed with a roll of her eyes. _

_ Josh still kept his eyes on Sam who had reddened under his gaze and threw her a wink. "Every night, darling." _

Sam let out a small shaky breath. "We should have gone back." She whispered. Chris had to be right. She didn't want to believe it but Josh had died up on that mountain. She hoped it had been that night, she hoped that it had been quickly, that he didn't suffer. "Oh, Josh." She cried out and before she knew it, her body was racking with sobs. She stayed like that on the closet floor for a while before the exhaustion of the day caught up to her and she passed out.

_ She was running again _ . 

_ She could see it just up ahead in the distance. The lodge, she just had to get to the lodge and she would be safe. A shrill shriek came from behind her a little closer than she would have preferred.  _

_ Keep pushing forward come on, almost there.  _

_ She could hear the rustling of the trees as the creature chased her through the woods, jumping from tree to tree, chasing her, toying with her. _

_ Sam sprinted up the snowy path and leaped over the gate, once she made it to the door she slammed it shut behind her blocking out the sound of another shriek and sunk in to the corner of the room. The snow crunched outside. It knew she was here. Sam sunk down against the wall.  _

_ Don't move. Don't move a fucking muscle.  _

_ The door handle shifted downwards and Sam buried her head into her hands. She could hear the creak of the door as it opened, it was a painfully almost mockingly slow noise. She didn't dare look up. One small movement and it was lights out, Samantha.  _

_ She could hear footsteps on the wooden floor, they sounded almost boot covered. She braced herself for another screech but it never came. _

_ "Sammy?" His voice was soft, almost unsure but unmistakably his. She slowly raised her head up almost expecting a wendigo to be standing there, tricking her by using his voice. But there was no wendigo, there was no masked clown either. There was-  _

_ "Josh."  _

_ There he was. He slowly edged his way towards her a warm smile on his face.  _

_ She was up in an instant and flying towards him wrapping him in to a hug. Her nostrils filled with his familiar scent. Black tea and mint with a hint of cigarette. His strong arms wrapped around her and she finally felt safe and warm. "Oh my God, Josh." She cried, burying her face into his chest. _

_ "You came back for me." He whispered in her ear, she shivered slightly at the feeling of his lips brushing her ear.  _

_ "I'd always come back for you." _

For the first time in three months Sam slept soundlessly right through the night. No nightmares plaguing her mind. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to stress that eveb though Ashley and Chris are featured here they aren't going ti be a big oart of the storym These first couple chapters is just about fleshing out and building the plot. 
> 
> I might feature other characters in flashbacks or such now and then but this story is going to be primarily end game Josh/Sam


	3. I do believe in fairies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3! 
> 
> Sammy is just goin thru it okay?

The next day Sam awoke to the sound of her alarm. Though it wasn't in a cold sweat like it usually was. In fact it was rather peaceful. She reached across to her bedside table to shut it of but her hand met with nothing. 

Her eyes fluttered open and everything from the previous night flooded her mind. She had fallen asleep in the closet. 

Groaning softly Sam began to sit up, her neck hurt a little from her position. She sighed softly looking down at the photographs that surrounded her, eyes once again connecting with the one she saw the night before. She couldn't stop thinking about her dream either. 

She recalled how  _ real _ he felt in her arms, his scent had filled her senses and his breath had tickled her neck. He had been  _ alive. _

Sam rose to her feet and wondered from the closet back to her room she set her alarm clock off for real this time and began to get ready for her jog. She looked so calm but her mind was a mess. 

Sam plugged in the earphones she found last night and stepped out in to the chilly morning air and began her route with P!nk's Who Knew blasting through her ears, her legs carrying her at a steady pace as her mind began to wander. 

_ "Saammy." _

_ The blonde turned her head from her place on the couch and smirked softly at the drunken vampire swaying in front of her. It was the annual Washington Halloween Party and all of their friends were here..and also Josh Hannah and Beth's parents and their friends.  _

_ Melinda and Bob had scolded their son earlier on in the night clearly not happy with his drunkenness in front of their peers. So Josh took it upon himself to loudly announce that the 'fun party' would be in the guest house for whoever wanted to actually get drunk and party and not stand around sipping one martini the whole night. So that is where the big group of friends found themselves.  _

_ "Yes, Josh?" Sam raised an eyebrow as the boy in question plopped down on the couch beside her almost causing her to spill her drink.  _

_ "You know-." He hiccupped before continuing. "Tinkerbell needs attention to live." He smiled lazily at her, fingertips playing with the wings of her costume. "And I wouldn't mind being your life support tonight."  _

_ Sam laughed at his comment and rolled her eyes. "Smoooth, Washington. How long did it take you to come up with that one?" The blonde responded with a smirk.  _

_ Josh simply shrugged. "You liked it." He retaliated with a smirk of his own. Before Sam could respond she was interrupted.  _

_ "Come on guys time to play Ring Of Fire!" A zombie in the form of Matt grinned. "And lucky for all you I brought tequilaaa!" Mike grinned shaking the freshly opened bottle back and forth as though he were tempting them and it definitely worked for Josh's eyes lit up like christmas lights..or I guess halloween lights.  _

_ Several hours and shots of tequila later the party had died out, everyone had either cleared out or fallen asleep wherever they could find. _

_ Mike had been dealt the fourth king and had to down a pint of tequila, jack daniels, gin, beer and for some reason Bailey's The beer and Bailey's mixing together created a weird foamy mixture. He had passed out pretty damn fast after that but not before throwing up in the garden with a lot of the elder Washington's posh friends watched on in horror.  _

_ Now it was just Sam, Beth and Hannah awake.  _

_ "I can't wait to get this stupid costume off and get into bed." Beth stumbled slightly as she fiddled with her 1920s flapper girl outfit.  _

_ "Tell me about it, I am sweating in this cloak." Hannah huffed, she was dressed as Hermione Granger.  _

_ Sam yawned loudly. She was so glad she was bunking with Hannah tonight and wouldn't have to sleep on the guest house floor seeing as how the sofa was occupied by Josh who was sprawled out over it, legs dangling off the side. Sam who had been leaning against the front of the couch shifted as she stood. "Agreed. Let's go to bed." She mumbled tiredly to the twins.  _

_ The movement of Sam pushing against the couch as she stood had stirred a sleeping Josh. His 'fangs' were no longer in his mouth, the fake blood he had dripping down the side of his mouth had smeared in to just a red stain. _

_ "All you had to do was ask." He slurred and the next thing Sam knew she was being pulled down on top of Josh. Sam yelped and attempted to pull away. "Josh!" She started but turned her volume down to a hiss when someone in the room shushed them. "Josh let me go." Sam whispered but Josh only pulled her closer. _

_ Sam and Beth stood covering their mouths to hold in their laughter as Sam blushed furiously.  _

_ "I do believe in fairies. I do, i do." Josh whispered, his head nuzzling into her neck before the sounds of his quiet snores resumed causing Sam to groan in frustration. _

_ "Guess i'm out of a room-mate for the night." Hannah giggled quietly and grabbed Beth's hand pulling her out of the room.  _

_ "I swear to god if you two leave me here-" Sam whined. _

_ "Goodnight Mrs Washington!" Beth drunkenly giggled as she disappeared round the doorway both twins ignoring Sam's threats as they left her stuck in their brother's embrace. _

Looking back now, being stuck in that situation wasn't so bad. She would give anything to go back to that moment again now, wrapped up in Josh's strong arms. Even if he was pissed drunk and flirting shamelessly into her ear like he so often did. Sam never used to take Josh's flirting too seriously, he did it drunk or sober. But he also acted this way with a  _ lot _ of girls.

Josh was known to be a bit of a ladies man, before he was best friends with Chris, Josh had been really close with Mike and the two were often seen to be chatting up pretty ladies. However Josh never seemed to lay it on as thickly with any of the other girls in the group like he did with Sam. 

She even remembered Hannah telling her once that she had never seen Josh look at a girl the way he looked at her, but Sam waved her comment off. Hannah was a bit of a hopeless romantic herself. 

Now she wondered if her best friend had been right. Maybe something could have happened with the two, there had been plenty of opportunity over the years but none of them took it. Maybe things could have been different. Now she wondered if it was too late.

  
  


_ If someone said three years from now _

_ You'd be long gone _

_ I'd stand up and punch them out _

_ 'Cause they're all wrong _

These dreams were filling Sam's mind, only making her belief that Josh might be okay stronger. 

Sam refused to believe Chris' theory. No matter how logical it was. If Sam could be an outsider looking in, she might see that no matter how much she tried to assure that she was, she was in fact  _ not _ fine. She still held on to hope that her friend could be alive after being stranded on a snowy mountain filled with man eating monsters for coming up to four months. But she did.

Before, she simply suppressed all her thoughts of Josh but the recent events had brought all of her guilt to the surface and now she found herself subconsciously making a decision. It didn't matter if no one else believed her, who thought she was crazy. Josh was alive and Sam was going to prove it. 

_ I know better, cause you said forever, _

_ and ever, _

_ Who knew? _

She knew she was going to have to do this on her own. Everyone else would refuse to go back, Chris had already looked at her like she was crazy at even the mere notion that Josh could be anything other than a rotting corpse. 

Hell maybe she was crazy. I mean returning to that mountain was a death sentence in itself they were lucky, as ironic as that is, that they made it back down safe and alive the first time.

Her mother would never allow her daughter to do this either, she had watched her little girl come back down an entirely different person from that dreaded mountain, had held her as she woke up screaming and sobbing every night rambling incoherently about deadly monsters that moved at the speed of light. She had heard the name a few times too. Wendigo. 

So she constructed a plan to ward both halves off the scent and that is how she ended up convincing her mother that she was going on a beach trip with her friends. Deana seemed wary at first but then after some thought she was delighted! She seemed to bite on to what Sam was feeding her. That she was getting better. 

With that thought her mother had agreed upon the condition that Sam have her phone on her at all times and text to let Deana know she was safe. 

She felt slightly bad for lying to her mom, but she had to. If her mom for one second began to suspect that Sam was not in fact heading to a beach house in Southern California but to the isolated mountain in which she almost  _ died _ and three of her friends that actually  _ did _ die -  _ well no not 3. 2 had died. The other one was just missing that was all. _ \- if her mother  _ did _ catch on, she'd probably lock Sam up in her room and throw away the key or  _ worse _ \- send her back to that shrink she went to for two sessions and never went back again. 

She had never told anyone else in the group about that, she knew a few other members had been to therapy like Jess, Ash, Mike and even Emily. They had spoken about it - Mike had drunkenly admitted it as he cried on Sam' s shoulder one night. Every person in that group was broken a little inside from that night. But Sam still never admitted to it. Because she didn't need help. She was  _ fine. _

  
  


Later that night her phone vibrated, screen lighting up signalling to her that she had a new text message. _ Chris _ .

_ Chris: Hey sam.. _

_ Listen i'm really sorry about last night. I don't know why I said all that. We all deserve to process this shit in our own ways and it wasn't cool for me to just dismiss it like that. I guess i'm not fully recovered from it either.. _

_ I miss him too, Sam. Sometimes I feel like he is still alive too, like when i'm in the car and turn on the radio and the 1st song playing is Bohemian Rhapsody, Or when i'm walking down the street and I catch a whiff of a chilli beef burrito lol _

_ Do u want to get together and talk about it this weekend? We could go to that bar on George Street that u like? :)  _

Sam scrunched her nose up at the burrito part. Josh always seemed to be snacking on some sort of junk food and would usually chew obnoxiously citing he didn't get her '_whole vegan thing_'. she read over the text, she felt a little guilty. For a second she considered telling Chris everything but after reading the text over a second time she decided against it. She knew he was trying to help but he still didn't get it. The way he spoke about Josh was like someone reminiscing a loved one who had passed away.  _ 'Ah its like they are still with us.'.  _ No. She couldn't risk him telling her that she was being nuts and telling her mom where she was really going, totally destroying her plan.

So instead, Sam began to type out a reply. She expressed to Chris that she wasn't mad at him but she also couldn't make it out to the bar as she was already going on a trip with her mom. She thought he might find it a tad suspicious seeing as this is the first he has heard of this so called trip. But both Sam and her mom were quite impulsive people that it could be bought as a spontaneous last minute thing. She kept her phone in her hand as she awaited his response.

Her phone chimed again and a smirk crossed her face.

_ Chris: Oh okay, no probs :) have fun _

He bought it. 

Loading up her laptop, Sam booked herself a bus ticket to Blackwood town centre. From there she could grab the cable cart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okayy! So now we are getting somewhere! The next chapter will be Sam going to the mountain and don't worry there will be an OFFICIAL Josh appearance very soon NOT a dream or a flashback. ;)
> 
> Also! Thank you so much for the 2 kudos! It nice to know someone is enjoying this so far!


	4. Up to the mountain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay! So this lil chapter doesnt really have any Josh in it at all but before you get annoyed here me out I know I said Josh will appear very soon and he WILL! But i am in the middle of writing the chapter and reaised it wss wayyyy to long so I had to cut it in half so the 2nd part will closely follow this one either tonight of tomorow and there will be Josh ;)))

Sam had been thankful her mom was working that morning, two days later. It made slipping out the house a lot easier. She wasn't sure how she was going to explain her winter attire going to a supposed beach trip. 

She didn't take a  _ whole _ lot with her, she thought taking loads of bags was a little silly seeing as this  _ was _ a rescue mission after all, not a vacation, lots of luggage would only hold her back. Instead she just took a large backpack. It had some clothes, snacks, a few bottles of water, matches, a torch and a blanket..you know, for Josh..It was cold up there. 

And so began her travels. A 3 hour bus journey and then an hour and a half on the train. 

She was thankful she left at 6am. It meant by the time she reached the mountain she still had a good few hours of daylight to start her search straight away. 

She felt sort of tired though, sitting down in the one spot for so long did not go well with her. Sam was used to being active, she was getting restless on the journey. She had turned off her phone earlier on the bus to save battery life but forgot to turn it back on on the train. Her mom might have text her by now. 

Quickly digging the phone out of her pocket she switched the device back on and she braced herself. Yep. Just as she suspected. Thankfully it hadn't been that long since her mom had text and it was just her checking Sam had locked the door behind her, she quickly replied that she had, so she didn't need to worry about her mom putting out a search party.

But it was the texts from Chris that caused Sam to worry. 

_ Chris (10:18): Sam why has your mom just text me asking to ask you if you locked the door??? _

_ Chris(10:21): ..When you are supposed to be on a family trip together???? _

_ Chris(10:21): SAM!!!  _

_ Chris(10:24): TURN ON YOUR GODDAMN PHONE. _

_ "Shit." _ She hissed. Well there goes the plan of keeping him in the dark.

Right as she was about to text back some quick excuse her phone began to ring and she winced as Chris' name and photo flashed up on screen. 

She braced herself before sliding her thumb across the screen and holding the phone up to her ear. 

" _ SAM _ !" Chris yelled down the line causing her to draw the phone away from her ear and cringe. " _ Sam, where are you _ ?!" Sam moved the phone back up to her ear. 

"Hey Chris.." 

_ "Don't hey Chris me! What the hell! Why did you lie about your trip with your mom!"  _

_ " _ Chris i-" She was cut off.

_ "I swung by your house cause I thought maybe you were still mad at me..but you aren't even home..Sam please don't tell me you are where I think you are.."  _

Sam's silence caused Chris to let out a frustrated yell and she could almost picture him leaning back on his computer chair, throwing his hands up in exasperation. 

_ "Sam what the hell! You can't go back up there it's a suicide mission!" _

"It's a rescue mission." Sam corrected and Chris sighed on the other side of the phone.

" _ This isn't what I meant by dealing with it in our own ways...Sam do you know how dangerous this is I mean who knows how many of those things are up there. I mean let's say you  _ do  _ find him and he's one o-' _

"I know, Chris." Sam cut him off not wanting to hear the last of that sentence. "I know how dangerous it is I  _ was _ there last time, remember?" She drawled. 

_ "So you remember how dangerous that night was with a whole group of us never mind you on your own." _ He was trying to be logical here, trying to get her to see sense, but Sam wasn't listening.

"I made it back didn't I?" She bit.

_ "Yeah.  _ That _ time. _ " 

They were both silent for a couple seconds before Sam sighed. "I'm not staying up there at night. I booked a bed and breakfast down in the village. I'm only going up the mountain during daylight. They only hunt at night remember." She promised. It was true too, Sam had no intentions of coming face to face with a Wendigo again, she wasn't  _ completely  _ crazy. 

This at least made Chris feel  _ slightly _ better, although, she could still tell he thought this was a terrible idea. But he also knew that Sam was one of the most stubborn people he had ever met. 

"..are you gonna tell my mom?" Sam asked quietly and the line was once again silent for a few beats before Chris sighed. 

_ "No." He answered. "I already covered for you when she texted me about the door."  _ Sam smiled at this. At least she knew she could count on Chris not to blow her cover.

"Thanks, Chris."

_ "Sammy...Please be careful..you might not find that answers you want up there."  _ He almost sounded like he was choking up and Sammy frowned, the weight of his words settling in. She knew exactly what he meant, and the thought of trekking up this mountain only to find Josh's frozen corpse made her stomach churn. 

She hadn't really thought about that outcome, mostly because she of course didn't want to. She had to keep some hope alive, for Josh's sake. 

"I'll be careful." She whispered, trying to make her voice sound as even as possible.

The call had ended with a promise to keep in touch as Sam felt the jolt of the train pulling to its final stop. With a deep breath Sam grabbed her bag and hopped off the train. It felt nice to finally stretch her legs after so long. She had considered grabbing a coffee from the little cafe in the village to perk her up a little bit, but in the end decided against it, she didn't want to waste any precious time she had. Josh was counting on her, coffee could wait. 

The short walk up to the Cable Cart station was revalitley normal, it wasn't until Sam was actually inside the cart itself peering out the window and watching the small village fade from view as she moved further away from it that Sam began to feel a slight bit of dread in her stomach. It felt like the air was getting colder and the sky duller the closer she drew to the top - despite it only being exactly 11am, it was like a foreshadowing warning. God, she hated this fucking mountain.

As the cart came to a stop Sam took a deep breath before exiting her last safety net. Blue eyes flicked around the cable car station and her brows furrowed. 

Clean.

It was..clean. The red paint from Josh's 'prank' was stripped from the walls, painted over by a fresh coat of white paint. Someone had been here. 

She felt her heart slightly swell on the thought that the same person that had made the mess may have cleaned it. Her mind crossed back to the Stranger that had helped them before, he had survived a long time on the mountain on his own and who the fuck was to say that Josh didn't too?

The newly found hope pressed Sam forward as she left the station. Black hiking boots crunched against the snow as she took her first step on to the mountain, It had sounded obnoxiously loud. As if the snow itself was trying to alert everything nearby that she was here, whether that was good attention or not. 

Sam pulled her coat further round herself, the cold air creeping it's way in to any little crevice of exposed skin she had. 

She walked up the short path to a clearing and stopped for a moment, taking in her surroundings. It was then that she noticed why her footsteps had sounded so loud.  _ Silence. _

Complete silence. There was no sound of birds chirping or animals moving through the trees, nothing to show there was any sign of life on the mountain at all, except her.

With a slight feeling of uneasiness, Sam continued on her trek. She supposed she could check out the lodge, or what remained of it at least. She recalled the way easily, she had spent many occasions up here after all. The twins and Sam were practically attached at the hip since they were twelve and she was always invited along on trips as though she was one of the family. Josh had once claimed that she was like a stray cat they had taken in. 

The walk from the cable cart to the lodge was just about over ten minutes and she was currently about half way there before a noise had caused her to freeze. 

A twig snapped from somewhere in the woods behind her. There was quite a distance between the noise and her position but it was close enough to set her on edge. Especially seeing as it's the first sound9 she has actually heard so far that wasn't caused by her own footsteps. 

She slowly turned her head and peeked over her shoulder towards the trees looking for any sign of movement. Her eyes narrowed, scanning the area she had heard the noise. 

Nothing. 

The blonde rolled her eyes and muttered to herself. "It's daylight, Sammy. It was probably just a squirrel."

Shaking the sound off Sam continued on her way, she was only a minute away from the lodge when she heard the noise again. It was closer this time. "Josh?" She called out hopefully as she came to a stop.

After hearing nothing again Sam went to resume walking but then she heard it. No, not a twig. A voice. It was  _ Her _ voice repeating back, but it wasn't coming out of her mouth.

" _ Josh?" _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bitch, she shook.


	5. Always lock your windows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uno..sometimes I like when people list the song theu listened to while they wrote a chapter so maybe imma start doing that..like now..
> 
> The Chain - Fleetwood Mac  
Home Sweet Home - Motley Crue 
> 
> Part of this chapter was sort of inspired by this gif   
https://giphy.com/gifs/elliot-alderson-Z3P0HjUz22DC0
> 
> Can you guess which part?

She didn't dare turn back, instead she booked it. Pushing her legs as fast as they could take her, her backpack bouncing against her spine. The lodge was just up ahead. 

She felt a strange sense of deja vu as she leaped over the gate. She couldn't hear anything following her but she wasn't about to risk checking either. Bursting inside the lodge she slammed the door behind her, turned the lock and pressed her back up against it.

She stayed there like that for several painfully long minutes, it felt like hours. She listened, eyes squeezed shut as she braced herself for something to burst through the wall and rip her throat out. She waited for any sign that whatever had been following her was still out there. 

_ Wendigo _ .

But it couldn't be, they only hunted at night.

_ But her voice..they can mimic their prey. _

Sam leaned her head back against the door; she waited a few more moments before finally letting out a deep breath. Maybe she had managed to lose it.

It wasn't until now that she had calmed down slightly that Sam realised that her back was pressed up against the lodge's door. It's  _ door _ . You know, the same one that got blown off in the explosion. She had been so focused on getting away from whatever was chasing her that Sam hadn't taken in the lodge's appearance as she had been approaching it.

Her eyes cracked open expecting to be met with fire damaged ruins of rooms and burnt wendigo corpses littered on the ground. She was met by surprise as the lodge, as a matter of fact, looked almost identical to how it had before, though you could tell it was freshly decorated. 

Okay, now she was confused and rightfully so. Pushing her back off of the door, Sam straightened up and warily edged her way further into the lodge trying to process what was going on. Now she might have been able to believe that Josh had been responsible for the clean up at the cable car station, but this was a whole new level. 

Everything looked scarily accurate to how it had right before the fire - minus the balloons and candles. It was like an exact replica. She poked her head into a couple of rooms on the ground floor. Though something interesting caught her eye in the kitchen area, she slid her backpack off and sat it on one of the dining stools as she approached the worktop, a notepad sat on top. 

Picking the pad up she began to read the note penned in elegant handwriting. 

  
  


_ Should you ever find your way back home again, please get in contact.  _

_ Nobody is angry with you, Joshua. _

_ We just want to know you are safe. _

_ We love you.  _

_ Always _

_ Mom, Dad.  _

Sam felt her eyes being to pool up with tears. It made sense now. The cable car station, the lodge. The Washington's had been the ones to make these repairs. They had paid to get the half destroyed lodge renovated for Josh. In case he found his way back, a familiar place to make him feel safe. 

She snooped around the kitchen, there was tins of food in the cupboard, though it looked fully stocked.

Turning on her heel Sam began to move towards the stairs, the upper level was mostly all the same as it was before, most of the second floor rooms were untouched by the fire. She avoided the bathroom, an uneasy feeling churned in her stomach as she glanced at it, memories of her running for her life in the filthy basement in nothing but a towel flashed through her mind. 

Instead when she got to the top of the stairs she moved to her left, towards Josh's bedroom. The door was closed shut. She let her hand rest on the door handle for a moment. Almost expecting Josh to jump out and yell that she had just been punked and these past months was actually all just a crazy fever dream. But when she slowly opened the door her heart sank.

It was empty.

There was no mass of black curls peeking out from under the bed covers. In fact there was no sign that this lodge had been lived in since it was done up.

He hadn't been here. 

Sam felt a heavy feeling pulling down on her heart as tears began to pour down her cheeks. It was like she had been slapped in the face and she finally began to see what Chris had been telling her all along. 

Josh was  _ gone _ . 

She found herself laying down on Josh's bed, face buried in to the pillow as she sobbed, the soft hint of his scent still lingered which only made her wail louder. 

It all felt so hopeless, so pointless. What was the reason for all those dreams and occurrences filling her with false hope. Was she just finally going completely insane and her brain was punishing her? Reminding her everyday of the boy on the mountain that she had left behind and how she would never get to tell him how fucking sorry she was or how much she cared for him. How she would give anything just to hear him call her Sammy again. 

She had taken it all for granted and now she found herself laying face down on that same boy's bed reliving every memory she ever had of all the chances she missed, every moment of her  _ not _ telling Josh what he really meant to her.

  
  


_ "Tell me again why you can't just go to your own house?"  _

_ Josh rolled his eyes at Sam's comment. He was holding on to the drain pipe outside her bedroom window. There was a lit cigarette halfway smoked between his lips and he was sporting a small but bleeding wound on his cheek bone under his right eye surrounded by a big red mark in the shape of a handprint _

_ "Because I don't want my family to see this, duh." He retorted. "Hannah and Beth would never let me hear the end of it."  _

_ Sam placed a hand on her hip and raised an eyebrow. "And what makes you think I won't tell them?" She challenged.  _

_ "Because I--" Josh trailed off and held on to the drain pipe with one hand as he held his phone up for her to see. "Have leverage."  _

_ The colour drained from Sam's face as she stared at the screen. That sneaky little bastard had caught her on camera, filming from his current position just outside her window there was a recording of Sam - singing along to Gotta Go My Own Way from High School Musical. It doesn't sound that embarrassing if it weren't for the fact that she had also proceeded to  _ act _ out the song too, taking on the roles of both characters by placing a brown plastic bowl onto her head everytime she 'played' Troy.  _

_ Sam's gaze slowly moved from the phone to Josh's face in pure horror, his eyes bore into her and his eyebrows jumped once as he tilted his head back slightly, smoke cascading from his full lips as they curled in to a smirk.  _

_ "So..gonna let me in now?" He asked and Sam narrowed her gaze.  _

_ "Shut up." She muttered but stepped aside. Josh grinned, cigarette still in between his teeth and moved to push himself on to the ledge but Sam stuck a finger out.  _

_ "Put that out first." She commanded.  _

_ With a roll of his eyes Josh took another drag from the cigarette before flicking it out of his hands letting it fall below. "Done." He grinned and pushed himself onto the ledge, climbing in to her bedroom.  _

_ "You know you didn't need to climb up the window right? My mom's not back till tomorrow night." Sam questioned as she led him to the bathroom.  _

_ Josh simply shrugged as he followed her, a grin on his face. "You know I like the dramatic touches, Sammy. Besides climbing the drainpipe is romantic, really you should be swooning right now." Came his tutted reply. _

_ "You're right what screams romance other than turning up to a girl's window with a bloodied face and another girls handprint on your face? Oh yeah and blackmailing them." Sam drawled as she grabbed a cloth and some rubbing alcohol and a small white band-aid from the bathroom cabinet while he took a seat on the edge of the bath.  _

_ Josh smirked at her reply but it soon turned into a sharp wince as she pressed the cloth against the cut.  _

_ "You sure know how to pick em, Washington." Sam muttered as she tended to the wound. _

_ "Eh, she couldn't have handled me anyways." The older boy spoke, his eyes following Sam as she moved around and began taking the packaging off the bandaid. Sam snickered softly. "I don't think anyone could handle you, Josh."  _

_ His eyes still followed her, her face was kinda close to his as she placed the bandage on his skin.  _

_ "You could." He smirked at her.  _

_ Sam paused for just a second as she caught his eye, their faces were inches apart, if she leaned forward just slightly there lips would be touching. But neither made the move. _

_ She quickly straightened up and moved back from him slightly, clearing away the small mess she had made while cleaning his wound. "In your dreams." She scoffed but it was slightly half hearted.  _

_ "Yeah every night! I already told you this Sammy." Josh feigned a huff but there was a small smile on his lips _

_ Once the blood had been cleaned up it wasn't that bad. The girl must have been wearing a ring and that is what caused the break in the skin. "What did you do to get slapped?" She asked changing the subject _

_ "Called her the wrong name." He shrugged nonchalantly.  _

_ She had wanted to ask what name he had used, but she never did. "Come on, you can stay here tonight." Sam offered already moving back into her bedroom and Josh accepted with a smug grin.  _

_ "I knew you wanted me in your bed, Samantha." He teased.  _

_ "Shut up, you can sleep in here, i'll sleep in my mom's bed." That was her offer, but Josh didn't seem to care much for it and instead shook his head and grabbed her hand pulling her down on to the bed with him and wrapping her in his arms before she could protest.  _

_ "Or we can both sleep here." He announced and Sam rolled her eyes and began to protest but he shushed her. "Come on Sammy, I got beat up tonight, I need you to hold me." He whined.  _

_ She wanted to protest again just to spite him but she did feel really comfy wrapped up in his arms and seeing as they both had had embarrassing encounters tonight she knew no one would have to know. "Whatever." She grumbled. _

_ Josh smiled though she couldn't see from her position of her head laying on his chest. He leaned down and kissed the top of her head,resulting in a fluttering feeling in her stomach.  _

_ "G'night Sammy.."  _

_ Sam smiled as she felt herself begin to drift away to sleep on his chest but stirred slightly as she felt a cold breeze on her skin.  _

"Did you forget to close the window?" She mumbled tiredly when she was met with no reply she cracked her eyes open. 

That warm feeling she had felt before was gone and replaced with dread. She wasn't in her bedroom, Josh wasn't laying under her. Instead, she was in his old bedroom at the lodge surrounded in darkness. 

_ Fuck _ . 

How had she fallen asleep?!

She had left the bedroom door open and could see down the hall. She had been correct with the cold winter air being the reason for her waking, for the window at the top of the stairs was open..and something was crawling inside. 

_ Oh fuck _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ya'll see now why I had to split it? 
> 
> I know the memory was really longgg but I really kinda wanna establish their relationahip pre game events. Im sorryy, but, it was cute tho, right??? :))) 
> 
> Shit is about to go down.


	6. Intruder

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! First of all I want to say thank you SO much for your kind comments and kudos, this story is pretty much the first thing I have been been excited to write about in SO LONG so it means so much! 
> 
> For this chapter I listened to  
Cry Little Sister - Marilyn Manson  
Say it Again - Frances

Sam was frozen on her spot on the bed. 

Her blue eyes were wide as she stared down the hall, focus glued to the figure that was creeping its way inside the lodge, shattered glass lay on the floor below. How could the sound of window being broken not wake her?! Had it been broken before and she didn't notice? 

Just stay still. Stay perfectly still. It can't see you if you don't move.

The shape looked human-like in the shadows, and the way it climbed through the window was  _ very _ akin to the same way a dark haired boy would climb through her bedroom window several times before, but one eye seemed to glow in the darkness like an animal's, it helped keep her rooted down to reality. This was  _ not Josh. _ The eye was the only feature she could make out from her distance and the lack of light, and it was focused straight on to her. She knew what it was. What else would it be?

_ Wendigo. _

The glass crunched under the feet of the intruder as they stepped down from its perch on the window ledge. 

Her breath was caught in her throat. Just stay calm. It's fine, it's fine. That one eye she could see shining in the darkness never moved from her. The floorboards creaked slightly as the thing took a step forward. Sam flinched involuntarily, mentally cursing her reflexes.This was  _ not  _ fine. The creature instantly dropped down into a crouching position.

There was nowhere to run and nowhere to hide, the staircase was in between them both and by the time she reached it the wendigo would have closed the gap and snatched her in seconds. On the other hand, just sitting here like a deer caught in headlights, with no choice but to wait for the monster to finally close in and end her pitiful existence didn't sound like too good of an ending to her story.

She couldn't make out the creature opening its mouth in the darkness. But she heard the noise it made. 

_ "Josh?" _ It once again repeated her own voice from earlier that day back to her.

That  _ thing _ that she was running from before, she knew it had followed her. It had probably been slinking in the shadows outside waiting for her, preparing for the perfect moment to close in on it's prey now that it had her trapped. 

Sam made her decision, she was no sitting duck. She wasn't about to go down without a fight, and so with that thought she sprang up from the bed and flew from the room, heading straight towards the wendigo on her mad dash for the stairs. The wendigo screeched at her movement but the sound was different to the ones that had been etched into her eardrums from memory.

It was deeper than the high pitched screech she remembered, less feral and slightly more man like. Slightly. She didn't stop to think about it though, just as she had reached the stairs, the Wendigo reached her and grabbed a hold of her; pointed nails pressing in to her through her thick jumper it had shrieked in her ear again as it caught her. Sam jolted forward sending them both tumbling down the stairs. 

They both grunted in pain as they hit each step on the way down.  _ Both _ of them. She could have sworn that it had grunted the word ' _ fuck _ ' from the impact of hitting the floor. 

Sam had managed to break free from the wendigo's grip during the fall and she forced herself to her feet, ignoring the pain in her left leg and hip, she ran. She was limping slightly as she ran but she forced herself through it, there was a clatter behind her and she knew it was chasing her. That horrible sense of deja vu washed over Sam again as she raced down to the basement. Memories of being chased through here in the towel rushed to her mind, she could feel the adrenaline rushing through her veins. 

There was just enough distance between them that she could maybe find a safe spot to hide out for a bit to throw it off the scent. She ducked behind a shelf near the boiler and pressed herself against the wall beside it. She could hear it, it was stepping into the room. This was no good. It was surely going to find her. Trying to press herself more back against the wall Sam felt something touch against her foot. Flicking her gaze down she spotted the baseball bat from last time laying on the ground, she bent down and instantly grabbed a hold of it, hands gripping it tightly. 

She listened for the wendigo's movement, footsteps were growing closer. She took a deep breath and as it moved to step in to line with her, she swung the bat round and hit target. The wendigo shrieked as it was knocked backwards, with an 'oof'.

Sam turned round and lifted her bat to smack it down on the little bastards head but froze. Arms were over the right side of the face, shielding where the bat had connected with, but there was no denying what she saw.

The baseball bat slipped through her fingers and clattered to the ground "Josh?.." Sam whispered, she felt like her legs were turning to jelly as she collapsed to her knees beside him. He was wearing the same dirty overalls as the last time she saw him though they were a lot more tattered and filthy, and he was concealing half of his face but she knew those dark curls anywhere.

He seemed to freeze at the sound of his name. She reached forward to touch him but he growled and instantly flinched away, his movements were quick as he went from laying crumpled on the floor to sitting up and backing away from her. Legs pulled up to his chest, sharp clawed hands were in his hair, pulling at it. He was shaking his head and the moonlight shining in from the basement window finally unveiled him to her. 

The right side of his face looked pretty normal, it was scratched up a bit and thinner than usual but still relatively normal...but the left side caused Sam's heart to sink. He still had the same old beautiful shade of green in his right eye, but the left side was milky, like had went blind in it. 

The worst part was the teeth

Razor sharp fangs were beginning to grow from the left side of Josh's mouth, his lip ripped in half at the corner. Her fear had been confirmed. Just like Hannah he had survived and they left him, left him here to die. To become one of those  _ things _ .

But he was different to other Wendigo's. She knew that one for sure because instead of rilling her throat out and feasting on her corpse, Josh was cowering in the corner and shaking his head like  _ he _ was the one scared of  _ her _ .

"Oh, Josh." Sam whimpered softly as she slowly crawled towards him. He was shaking like a leaf and it sounded like he was rambling to himself very lowly she couldn't even make out if it was words or just noise. Her hand reached out slowly and touched his leg he instantly jerked in reaction and his eyes snapped to her as if he had forgotten she was there. 

His gaze was flickering all over her face, he looked unsure and nervous as he reached out a finger and pointed to her. "S.. Sss..Sa-aamm?" He managed to utter out and it was his real voice, not her voice, not a sceam, it was  _ his  _ voice. It was hoarse and also slightly slurred but it was definetly his. A mix between a laugh and a sob left Sam as she nodded. 

"It's me, Josh!" She cried and went to leap towards him and engulf him into a hug but before she even got the chance he began pressing back further against the wall like he was trying to get far away from her. 

But she persisted and gently placed her hand on the non scarred side of his cheek. "It's me Josh, it's Sam." She hadn't even realised that she had been crying till she heard her voice crack. She felt him lean in to her touch, even going as far as to close his eyes. Her thumb gently traced back and forth on his cheekbone, an action she had used with him a lot before to calm him down. Usually whenever he was drunk and trying to fight some dude that had even slightly upset her, or all the times he had came to her after the twins deaths, broken and crying. 

A look of content warmed his features and his eyes flashed with recognition as he opened them but as quickly as it was there, it was gone. She had been caught off guard when he pushed her back and fled, escaping through the basement window, baring his teeth and growling at her as she moved to follow him. 

Sam froze in fear and she swore a look of hurt crossed his face but it didn't matter because in the next minute he was gone, disappearing into the woods and she was left all alone again. She had just found him and now lost him again but she didn't follow, she knew better than to go running through Blackwood Pines at night. Would he come back? Why didn't he kill her? Was he going to come back _to_ kill her? 

Questions were flooding Sam's mind they didn't matter right now. What mattered was the answer to Sam's reasoning for being back on this damned mountain.

Josh was alive.

..Well, sorta..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally! He makes an offical appearance! What did you guys think? Did you know it was going to be Josh? Did you guess he was going to be half Wendigo?
> 
> Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and don't worry that won't be the last we see of Josh!


	7. Not all who wander are lost

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyy sorry for the little break i've been loaded with the flu since Friday and was attempting to make crappy little fanvids of josh/sam instead of writing bc im TRASH 
> 
> This chapter is kinda filler, josh makes a memory appearance BUT he will be back offically very soon ;) 
> 
> Songs that helped write or that i listened to while writing this chapter:
> 
> If I Get High. - Nothing But Thieves  
First Cut Is The Deepest - P.P Arnold

Sam didn't go back to sleep the rest of that night. 

She had closed and locked the basement window Josh had exited out of just in case he or anything else decided to invite themselves inside. There was little she could do about the broken window in the upstairs hall though. She hid herself back in Josh's room but she closed the door this time and shoved a chest of draws in front of it. Sitting on top of Josh's bed she drew her legs up to her chest, listening out for any shrieks or signs of movement, she sat awake till the sun came up. 

Josh didn't return and thankfully nothing else decided to show up either. Once she knew it was safe Sam climbed off the bed, pushed the chest of draws aside and slid out of the room.

Daylight poured in throughout the lodge, it was peaceful. You would never tell what had happened last night..or 3 months ago for that matter. 

She walked down the steps to retrieve her bag that she had left in the kitchen, she noted that her leg still slightly ached from falling down the steps last night, unzipping her bag she pulled out a sandwich pack. It would suffice for breakfast. Blue eyes flicking up the clock on the wall she read the time as 8:04. Damn it took a while to get light up here. She decided she should maybe take a shower, freshen her body - and mind - up a little bit. But as she moved up the steps and closer to the bathroom an uneasy feeling twisted in her stomach and a vision of a masked clown waiting for her at the top of the stairs caused her to stop abruptly.

_ "Sam..Sa-am."  _

On second thought maybe a shower could wait. 

Turning on her heel Sam retreated back down the few steps she had climbed. Instead she zipped her coat, which she hadn't removed the night before, back up and headed for the door. She had a couple more things she needed answers too. 

The light bouncing off the snow caused it to be almost blinding at first and Sam had to shield her eyes till she adjusted to the brightness. 

_ Remember they only hunt at night _ . 

She flinched slightly at the idea of putting Josh in the same category as  _ them _ . He wasn't like them, if he was she wouldn't still be standing here right now. She was going to seek him out in the safety of daylight. Or was that too naive? 

It didn't matter as her legs were already carrying her forward and she had just passed through the gate into the open. She could hear birds chirping and a small squirrel scampered over the path, she found some solace in the fact that if there was wildlife freely roaming sensing no threat of predators then she was currently safe. She continued on her stroll, she would have jogged had it not been for the strain in her leg, instead she stuck to a steady pace.

"Josh!" She called out and waited for his voice, or even  _ her  _ voice. But the only noise came from the birds in the trees. She ventured near the mines but was not  _ quite _ foolish enough to actually wander inside. "Josh!" She called out his name again. Still there was no reply. She spent her morning roaming the mountain in search of him. She found herself getting lost in her mind again. 

_ 14 weeks.  _

_ That's how long it's been since Beth and Hannah had disappeared.  _

_ Sam had already been awake when her phone buzzed in her hand at 3:24, Josh's name and picture replacing the news article of the disappearance that she had been reading. She slid her thumb across the screen without missing a beat and held the phone up to her ear.  _

_ "Hello?"  _

_ She heard him take in a quick breath, like he hadn't expected her to answer.  _

_ "Josh?"  _

_ He sniffled quietly. "S-sam.." His voice was a broken whisper. She knew he was crying and it made her heart grow heavy. He didn't say anything else, she couldn't tell if he was trying to and the words just weren't coming out or if he just wanted to hear her voice.  _

_ "Do you want to come over?" She spoke softly into the phone as to not wake her sleeping mother.  _

_ He was silent for a few seconds before he replied with a small 'mhmm'.  _

_ There was a soft rapping at her bedroom window not even ten minutes later and Sam instantly got up to let him in. Her eyes took him in as he climbed through the window, his hair was disheveled and his eyes were red and puffy, dark circles hung under them giving him an almost lifeless look.  _

_ "Hey.." Sam whispered and tried a small smile. _

_ "Hi.." He replied in a whisper quieter than hers, not meeting her gaze.  _

_ She reached her hand up and her thumb gently stroked across his cheek, wiping a tear away as she did so. He leaned affectionately into her touch but his eyes began to screw shut and he pulled his bottom lip into his mouth as he tried to hold in his returning sobs. _

_ Sam sighed softly and pulled him into her. "Come here." She wrapped her arms around his larger frame and pressed her cheek to his chest. His bigger arms instantly encircled her and he bowed his head down so his nose was buried in her hair. He squeezed her in his grip gently, like he was scared she was going to slip away.  _

_ "You wanna lie down?" Sam asked quietly and his nose rubbing against the top of her head slightly let her know he was nodding. _

_ She pulled back gently from his grip though he seemed reluctant to let her go, she slid her hand into his and smiled reassuringly at him as she squeezed his hand, showing him that she wasn't going anywhere, she pulled him over to the bed.  _

_ She sat him down on the edge and helped him to remove his hoodie and then guided him to lay down before she slid off his sneakers. If this was any other time she would have expected a cheeky comment about how he'd always dreamed about her stripping him, but this wasn't any other time and Josh's mouth kept shut, his eyes staring at the bedroom wall as he curled up on his side. _

_ The bed behind him dipped slightly as Sam lay next to him. He finally broke his silence after a few moments. "I miss them, Sammy. I miss them so much." He croaked.  _

_ She moved over to him, her chest and face pressed against his back, her arm rounded him as she held him close to her, protectively. "I miss them too." She replied tearfully. Her eyes closed tightly, trying to keep her tears at bay as she felt his body rock with silent sobs. She wished she could take his pain away from than her own.  _

_ "We're going to be okay, Josh. We're all going to be okay." She promised, face still buried in to his t-shirt, she hated to hear him cry. "I'm here, I'm here." She cooed softly as his body began to still.  _

_ She felt him begin to shift so she pulled her head back slightly. Josh rolled over onto his back and then his side to meet her, his face now right in front of hers. His face was still had damp tear tracks on them and she soon realised hers did too as one of his hands reached up and a thumb tenderly stroked over her cheeks, wiping them away, repeating her actions from earlier. _

_ "I could feel my shirt getting wet." He commented and Sam let out a small broken laugh. "Sorry." She swallowed. Josh shook his head and returned the hint of a smile.  _

_ It was his turn to pull her close. His strong arms gathered round her small frame as he pulled her into him. "You're the best, Sammy. You mean so much to me." He hummed gently by her ear before pressing a small kiss to the top of her head, taking in her lavender scented shampoo as they both fell asleep in each other's embrace.  _

  
  
  


Sam's hands cupped around her mouth. "Jo-osh!" She made her final call.

It had been a good couple of hours she had been looking for him now, and not a peep in reply. With a soft sigh she kicked the snow under her boots. 

"Only found when you wanna be found, huh?" She grumbled before making her way back to the lodge, the cold was beginning to really creep up on her now. The well lit path of the morning sun made Sam's trip back much easier than the night before. She hadn't really realised that the closer she got back to the lodge, the less the birds were singing. 

She made her way inside the lodge and made sure to lock the door behind her. The warmth of the lodge was a lot more welcoming than the bitter cold outside, but it could still use a little help. 

Sam crossed over the room to the fireplace, she didn't even need to pack it with any wood or coal, since the refurbishment it had been set up, for Josh she supposed, but it had not yet been lit.

Sam was about to retrieve her bag and get her matches but luckily enough there was a pack sitting on the mantelpiece, sliding one out she struck it against the side of the box and flicked the burning match into the pit, sighing in content as the logs began to catch fire, warming the side of Sam's face. 

If Josh didn't want to be seeked out she would just have to wait until he came to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sad Josh and Sam makes me sad :(
> 
> Thank you once again to your guys continued support and also to those just reading for the first time. Hope I can keep you entertained :)


	8. Lavender and Champagne

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Suprise bitch, bet you thought you'd seen the last of me.
> 
> First of all, i am SO SORRY it took so long for this chapter, i've had a lot going on anx just haven't had either the motivation or the time. I want to make it clear i'm not giving up on this story! Though updates may not be as frequent as I would like. 
> 
> This chapter is another flashbacky one! But it is filled with Sam/Josh fluffiness that I hope makes up for my absense! 
> 
> The song i recommend for this chapter is Everything But You - Megan McKenna & Always Remember Us This Way - Lady Gaga 
> 
> On with the show!

The only sound in the remodeled lodge, was the noise of Sam’s boots stepping across the wooden floor as she crossed the room over to the couch.

Sam plopped down with a huff, sinking into the plush furniture, her head tilted back and hung over the back of the couch as she closed her eyes. A heavy sigh left her parted lips. She had known coming back up to this mountain wasn't going to be plain sailing, she had known in the back of her mind it wasn't going to be as easy as coming up and down with Josh on the same day all rainbows and smiles, but nonetheless, she had a goal and she was  _ going _ to save Josh no matter how long it took and the both of them were going to make it down off this mountain, together. 

The blonde lifted her head slightly and opened her eyes, lazily scanning her surroundings. The refurbishment was so well done that you would never guess what horrors had occurred right here months ago. Her gaze fell onto a crystal vase filled with lavender, definitely Mrs. Washington's touch. She guessed they were artificial due to their perfect condition but the sight of them caused the corners of Sam's lips to twitch up into the ghost of a smile. 

  
  


_ A loud obnoxious whistle caused Sam's gaze to flick away from her reflection in the mirror towards a grinning Beth.  _

_ "Dillon Stanley eat your fucking heart out." The brunette purred from the doorway as she sipped on her flute of champagne - Mrs Washington had allowed them one half glass each seeing as it was a special occasion - and sat beside Hannah. The two twins were also dressed up, with Beth in a coral dress while Hannah adorned a navy one.  _

_ Sam was dressed in a strapless satin lavender gown with a lace bodice. She had left her blonde locks down in loose curls with thanks to Hannah and her curling wand. _

_ "I can't believe you kicked him in the crotch." Hannah shook her head in awe.  _

_ "I can!" Beth interjected. "Prick earned it."  _

_ The male in question Dillon Stanley, was supposed to have been Sam's date for the winter junior ball. He was one of the football players and Sam couldn't deny she had been a little bit excited when the attractive and popular boy asked her to the dance. That was up until earlier today in school when she caught him crudely discussing with his football team how he was going to win his bet tonight by sleeping with Sam. She had approached behind him to ask what time he would be picking her up when she heard the exchange.  _

_ "Whatever bro, I got it in the bag. By the end of tonight my nuts will be emptied and  _ you _ will owe me twenty dollars." The tanned boy boasted. His teammates noticed Sam a little too late and when one wildly gestured towards her with his eyes, by the time Dillon turned around Sam's knee came up and collided with his crotch.  _

_ She had actually been looking forward to this stupid dance this morning, now, she just wasn't in the mood. Sam smoothed out her lavender dress with a sigh. It wasn't that she was upset about Dillon, she didn't give a rats ass about him. She was upset because, as much as she denied it and made a front of being totally unbothered by romance, Sam was a closet romantic. The only other people who shared this information was Hannah, Beth and Josh but that's because he was 'forced' to watch chick flicks with the three.  _

_ Tonight was supposed to be one of those special memories to look back on, getting picked up and escorted to prom by her date and then some really cheesy slow song would come on at some point and they'd be dancing real close like they were the only two in the room, they would gaze shyly into each other's eyes before kissing under the twinkling lights. But that jerk had to go and ruin that little fantasy.  _

_ Beth noticed the sour look on her friend's face and frowned before an idea popped into her mind and a mischievous smile came onto her face. "You look like you could use another drink..and guess who stole the key to daddy dearest's liquor cabinet?" She produced the key from her bra.  _

_ "Oh no no no, no way Beth he is literally right there in his office he is so going to ground you if he finds out!" Hannah instantly began shaking her head in disagreement but Beth jumped up and took off out the room ignoring her twin's warnings as she chased after her.  _

_ Sam followed out of the room, deciding to wait in the living room. She could hear three sets of voices arguing in hushed whispers down the hall, but couldn't make out what was being said. The whispers gradually raised before they were cut off by a distinctive 'ow!'. A few moments later she heard feet running up the stairs and a bedroom door shutting. Beth and Hannah finally entered the room and the younger of the two twins handed Sam a fresh glass of champagne.  _

_ "M'lady." Beth grinned as she clinked her glass off Sam's. The blonde returned a small smile and took a gulp of the bitter liquid.  _

_ "So is your dad still driving us or what? The dance starts in fifteen minutes..and do we really have to go?". _

_ "Yes we really have to go." Hannah rolled her eyes. "C'mon! It's going to be so much fun!"  _

_ "And dad is tied up with work so Josh is gonna drive us instead, he's just getting changed." Beth explained, Sam missed the shared look that the sister's exchanged. The three sat sipping on their wine glasses and talking for another ten minutes when the sound of shoes coming down the stairs caused Beth to jolt up.  _

_ "HANNAH!" The outburst caused Sam to jump and she looked at Beth with an alarmed expression. "I just remembered i forgot my necklace come help me put it on!" She grabbed on to her sister's hand and pulled the giggling girl out of the room.  _

_ "What the fuck.." Sam muttered with a shake of her head.  _

_ "Funny. That's what I thought when I heard you were going to prom with Dildo Stanley." Josh's voice echoed as he entered the living room, dressed in a black suit. His black curls styled neatly. He'd had a smug smirk on his face walking into the room but it instantly slipped off the moment Sam turned to face him. He looked taken aback but quickly caught himself and the smirk was instantly replaced. "Damn Sammy, you scrub up well." He whistled but she could see the playfulness behind his green eyes as he looked her up and down.  _

_ "I could say the same for you, Joshua. Where are you off to dressed all fancy?" The girl smirked in return eyeing him right back. He really did clean up well.  _

_ "Going to the dance." Josh replied as he adjusted his already perfected tie in the mirror above the fireplace. Sam snorted. "I thought you thought the dance was stupid, what unlucky girl are you dragging along with you?" She placed her hand on her hip and cocked a brow at him, watching him through his reflection in the mirror.  _

_ Josh caught her eye and smirked. "You." He replied casually before turning around to face her shocked expression.  _

_ "Me?" Sam pointed to herself, she wasn't sure if she was missing a joke here. But Josh only smiled as he stepped towards her. "I got a full flask of whiskey on me." He opened his black blazer and she noticed the little silver lid peeking out from the top of his inside pocket. "Figured we could pour it in the punch and turn it into a real party." He threw her a wink, taking another two steps before he was right in front of her. _

_ "If that's alright with you." He tilted his head so he was looking down at her, even with her 4 inch heels, Josh still stood about 3 feet taller. Neither noticed the two dark headed twins peeking around the doorframe and watching the two with massive grins on their faces.  _

_ Sam felt a warmness grow in her chest and a smile eventually graced her sun kissed face, the previous confusion melting away. "Okay." She agreed and Josh grinned but she held her finger up. "On one condition." She added, now it was Josh's turn to look confused.  _

_ "That one condition being?.." The older of the two waited for clarification.  _

_ "You have to ask me properly." Sam confirmed, a smirk growing at Josh's expression. "Really? I-- fine." He began to argue but decided to let it go. He turned away from her and moved over to a small glass side table, he picked a few of the lavender stems his mom had placed there out before turning back around.  _

_ "Sammy, will you do me the honour of promising to have the best night of shit fuckery and underage drinking tonight by going to the prom with me." Josh proposed with a grin as he held out the small bouquet. Sam rolled her eyes at his choice of words but smiled nonetheless.  _

_ "Yes, Josh I will go to prom with you." She replied, accepting the lavender from his hand, she picked out a lone stem and moved closer to Josh, ignoring his confused expression as she slipped it into his breast pocket. "Now you match me." She smiled, glancing up to Josh who now wore the same look as her.  _

_ "I wouldn't rather any other babe to go with." He chided.  _

_ "You weren't even going in the first place." Sam reminded him with a roll of her eyes.  _

_ "Exactly." Josh winked. "Only for you, Sammy."  _

_ The blonde couldn't tell if he was just humoring her again but his words caused a small heat to rise to her cheeks.  _

_ "Shame you're not going with Dildo anymore though..that dress would really match his left eye." He followed on and Sam furrowed her eyebrows. What was he talking about? Sam had kicked him in the crotch not--..wait a minute. _

_ "Josh. What did you do?" Sam pressed with an almost knowing expression but Josh simply shrugged his shoulders and gave her that usual shit eating grin. "Nothing he didn't have coming to him." He drawled casually before holding his arm out for her. _

_ "Now come on Cinderella. Your ball is waiting."  _

  
  


Sam hadn't even realised she had been crying until a tear rolled from her cheek and fell on to the back of her hand. Josh had always been there in her time of need, now it was time for her to be there for him. Pushing herself off of the couch she walked over to the window. The landscape outside had significantly darkened due to the external winter weather on the god forsaken mountain. 

"Don't worry Josh, i'm coming." She whispered softly, 

Tomorrow. She was going to get Josh back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I hope you guys liked this chapter! I just love the idea of the twins always meddling and 'forcing' Josh to go be sweet to Sam, they totally played cupid all the time. 
> 
> Also i'm from Scotland so i'm not really sure how the US education system works i don't even know if junior have a prom! 😂 and I know Josh is older but lets just say for this Seniors were allowed to go 🤷🏽. 
> 
> Let me know what you think guys!x


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